# chile

Pronunciation: say "CHIL-ee" /ˈt͡ʃɪli/

## Proper noun · Chile

1. A South American country, officially called the Republic of Chile, with Santiago as its capital and largest city.
   - Simple: A country in South America. Its capital and biggest city is Santiago.
   - _She spent a semester in Chile, teaching English in a small town outside Santiago._
   - _Chile shares a long border with Argentina along the Andes._

## Noun

2. Alternative spelling of chili. *(dialectal, US)* — Alternative spelling of chili.
   - Simple: Alternative spelling of chili. Some people in parts of the US spell it this way.
   - _The diner smothers its burritos in green chile, and the hotter the better._
   - _She bought a sack of dried red chile at the farmers' market._
3. Pronunciation spelling of child, representing Southern US and African-American Vernacular English. (pronounced: say "CHYL" /ˈt͡ʃaɪl/)
   - Simple: Pronunciation spelling of child. It shows how the word sounds in some Southern and African American speech.
   - _"Lord, that chile can sing," Mother Hattie said as the choir filed out of church._
   - _"Hush now, chile, your mama's on the phone," the old woman whispered._

## Origin

**Meaning 2** — From Spanish chile; it is a variant of chili and chilli.
**Meaning 1** — From Spanish Chile, whose earlier origin is uncertain, possibly from Quechua chiri ("cold").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chile (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).